Fake Rs 2,000 notes from Bangladesh seized near Vizag, DRI arrests two

One of the accused, hailing from Bengaluru, stated that they intended to exchange the fake notes during the Karnataka elections.
Fake Rs 2,000 notes from Bangladesh seized near Vizag, DRI arrests two
Fake Rs 2,000 notes from Bangladesh seized near Vizag, DRI arrests two
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The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday recovered a haul of fake Rs 2,000 currency notes with a total face value of Rs 10.20 lakh from the Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express and arrested two persons.

"Acting on a tip-off, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers intercepted two persons travelling in the East Coast Express running from Howrah to Hyderabad near Vizag and on search of their baggage, found them to be carrying fake Indian currency notes in five bundles. Total 510 pieces of fake Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes having face value of Rs 10.2 lakh were recovered from them," an official said.

According to him, the fake notes were obtained from a person who allegedly brought them from Bangladesh and handed over to them at Farakka, which is few kilometres away from West Bengal's Malda distrct, a known hub for fake notes circulation.

"Both the persons were booked and the accused, hailing from Bengaluru, stated that they intended to exchange the fake notes during the forthcoming elections in Karnataka. One of two accused has a criminal background," the DRI official said.

Further investigation is underway, the official added.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) report released in November last year, a total of 2,272 fake notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were seized in 2016.

Since the Rs 2,000 note -- along with the new Rs 500 currency -- was introduced only after November 8, 2016 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation, it meant that those counterfeiting the notes got into the act very quickly.

In just 53 days between November 8 and December 31 last year, police and other government agencies seized 2,272 fake Rs 2,000 notes -- at a time when people across the country were struggling to get hold of the new currency, NCRB data shows.

IANS inputs

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